In the Veins
by Machete Girl
Summary: What would you do if your family member was dying? What would you do if that individual was consumed by a poison slowly turning him against you? Four of the ninja live on in life, merry and oblivious to their tormented brother. When one runs, the others must follow (not Zane having the problem, for once). Rated T for hurt/comfort and minor violence.
1. Chapter 1: The Icy Brother

Chapter 1

The Icy Brother

**A/N: Hello! There is some violence in the first chapter, but the rest goes slower, and not so crazy. This is mainly family content (a chapter or two later). :) Thank you for reading!**

**Julia**

"Do you believe in evil?" Lloyd ventured to ask one particular morning while making his bed. Zane was making his as well. At first the ice ninja did not respond and merely paused, contemplating.

"Yes, we have been fighting it all along," Zane said.

Lloyd straightened up and pulled at his wavy, blond hair in frustration. "No, I mean, pure evil. I mean the kind of evil that can…turn a human into a monster. Nevermind. Pretend I didn't say anything." The green ninja sighed and ambled out of the room.

Zane watched his younger brother disappear down the hallway, sensed something was wrong with him. He had been acting quite strange lately and several incidents had come to mind. Little did the ice ninja realize what a threat the simple matters would pose. Uf he had not chosen to ignore the bells that had gone off, none of the problems would have surfaced ten weeks after.

"I'm so excited. We're fishing!" Jay exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air causing him to drop his pole in the water.

"Dang it, Jay! That was one of our best poles!" Kai yelled and slapped him in the head.

"Ouch! Sorry, I'll go get it!" Jay whined while rolling up his blue sleeves.

"No," Zane stopped him and smiled, "I will get it."

Why they had decided to come and fish was beyond him. He rolled up his sleeves and leapt into the icy, refreshing water only he and Lloyd would enjoy. Kai cannot stand touching the freezing lake and neither can Jay or Cole.

The water enveloping him seemed to bring a whole other world to the ice ninja and he swam down to the bottom, frightening a few fish away. He grabbed the fishing pole that had been lying on the ground, and turned his head upward.

A splash caught his attention and he saw purple eyes staring at him from above, slowing drawing near. They seemed so full of anger, unlike the serene waters surrounding them.

A few ripples in the lake and strokes brought forth a shape, and the shape was that of a human, yet not quite alike. Its face was somehow familiar, but it was contorted and had purple veins bulging on its pale skin of a deathly look. Its bloody, red lips formed a smile as it displayed a row of cold fangs, and water bubbled from its nose.

Zane shivered and started to swim away, yet felt sharp, icy nails imbedded in his ankle. They did not pierce him, for that was not their owner's intention, but they drew him back, turned him to face the hideous being, jet black, wavy hair piled on top of a gaunt figure dressed in green.

His face, his clothes were somehow familiar as well, belonging to that of a boy Zane knew. Lloyd. It could not be. The ice ninja merely stared straight into those eyes, the look of them purely evil, its malice unleashed. It wrapped both bony, strong fingers around Zane's throat, squeezing him in vice grip.

The ninja grabbed onto the slimy hands and attempted to wrench them off, yet the owner was far too powerful for such child play as this. It wanted to devour the ninja, to take away his life, his breath, and his powers.

The watery grave where both struggled to overtake one another seemed like endless time as Zane thrashed and kicked, his blows blunted by nature. In those few seconds, he felt life abandon him.

The ice ninja screamed into the bubbly death that strived to embrace him, yet it was not over, for the eyes turned green, human, innocent, frightened. The creature's hair turned blond, his pale body yellow, his gaunt figure full, his bloody lips pink, fangs teeth, and his being…life. He pulled Zane up, out of the water and grabbed hold of the muddy bank as Kai leapt into the water to save them.

"Are you okay?" the fire ninja coughs, getting out again, and helping the two onto the green grass.

"Yeah, but why were you screaming?" Lloyd inquires, patted Zane's back as he coughed out water.

The ice ninja turned to him, his blond hair flattened and adhering to his forehead, his wet body shivering, his own eyes frozen with utter terror. The creature had seemed to bore into his mind, stripping him of all sanity, of all means of being able to remember Lloyd being in the water.

"Kai!" Zane screamed and wrapped both arms around his brother, clutching at him for dear life.

"What? What's the matter?" Jay asked frantically, running with Nya and Cole toward the three soaked, sitting ninja.

"I-I-I s-s-s-s-aw…something." Zane grabbed onto Kai's gi tighter and looked away from the water, trembling terribly.

"What did you see?" Lloyd inquired. Zane shook his head, his face paling to a white sheet.

"What's the matter?" Cole demanded, shaking Zane. "Snap out of it, you hear me!" Again Zane shook his head, but pointed to the watery gave. All eyes followed him, yet they saw nothing.

Nya lifts Zane's chin up and examines the purple bruises on his throat. "Were you attacked?"

"Yes…I…no, I wasn't," Zane quickly added, casting a glance in Lloyd's direction. He released Kai and stood up, ambling back to the car, and opened the door. "We ought to return or else Sensei will be worried!" he called to them.

"Okay…does anyone find the whole incident strange?" Jay asks, exchanged looks with everyone.

Lloyd stared at his shaken up brother, unable to recollect why he was so frightened. "So why were you in the water?" Nya inquired of Lloyd.

"Huh? I was?" the green ninja furrows his brows. "I don't think so."

"You just pulled Zane out," Kai says, eyeing the oblivious boy.

"I did? Well that explains why I'm so wet, but that can't be. I don't remember doing that."

No one brought up the disturbing incident, yet Zane always avoided confronting Lloyd, though the former did not know why. It wasn't until a year later that everyone would find out what went wrong and what really happened.

* * *

><p>This other peculiar morning, during the fall is the day when things go awry, whilst Zane obliviously walks into his shared room, having left a shuriken there.<p>

He slips a hand under the bunk and clutches something with a soft covering, but it is hard underneath. He feels it and suddenly it registers in his calculations. He gives a small yelp and makes for the door, yet as his hand touches the handle, he freezes…petrified.

A shadow falls on his face as he turns his head slightly to meet the ghastly sight he has come across precisely a year prior. The black hair, the purple eyes, the gaunt, pale figure, the bloody, red lips, and the fangs are all unmistakable.

Chills run down Zane's spine, despite the fact that it's artificial. He drops the shuriken. It makes a clank on the floor and rolls toward the creature, or more the man.

"Zane, what's the matter?" he inquires in a childish voice.

"L-Lloyd?" Zane trembles and remains in the same place, not daring to move lest the man attempts something he senses will be detrimental.

"I am not that pathetic ninja," the man scoffs in a soft whisper and takes a step toward Zane, "I took over him. I am in his veins."

He opens his mouth and licks his lips with a reptilian tongue; then looks at the ice ninja with a cold expression. There's no anger, just pure cold intent. It takes several more steps, close to gliding, yet still striding after all, and he reaches Zane, putting an icy, gaunt hand on his shoulder. He grips him with, sharp, dirt-permeated nails, and lifts him in the air; then pins his back against the door. Zane feels a scream rising up in his throat, but when he opens his mouth, nothing comes out.

He sinks to his knees and hugs them tightly, refusing to move while the evil Lloyd in the ninja's confused mind grins, then slips a bony hand down the ice ninja's gi, undoing the top, ready to extract his powers. Zane shivers, the flesh feeling colder than death, colder than anything he's ever imagined.

His now bare chest is bluish and pale as well, yet he feels something going out of his body, something that kept him warm, his ice powers. The purple veins in Lloyd's hand thin a bit and turn the same hue as Zane's artificial skin.

* * *

><p>"Where's Zane? He should have been here by now!" Jay complains, glancing around the deck of the New Bounty.<p>

"And where's Lloyd?" Kai asks, turning to Cole, careful not to hit him with the katana he's holding.

"I guess they both went to get something. Hey, do you remember what day it is?" Cole inquires.

"October14th," Jay responds.

"Last year was when that freaky incident occurred."

"Okay, guys. Knock it off. Zane and Lloyd will be here any moment now, so don't mention it," Kai says. After several more minutes the three begin to worry, especially the fire ninja.

"Let's just take a look just in case." Kai walks to the hallway followed by Jay and Cole.

Once they reach their room, Jay peers through the window, yet sees nothing for a second. Then he does, Lloyd, not the same way Zane sees him, yet exactly normal except for two details: a shade of blue on his also pale skin. He's standing over something, or someone. His face looks terrified.

Kai grabs the handle and pushes the door open, shoving against something heavy. "G-g-guys!" Lloyd cries, not taking his eyes off the cold form slumped on his side on the wood. "Zane is…I think there's something wrong with him!"

"What?" Jay and Cole exclaim in unison as all three bolt into the room.

Kai gingerly grabs Zane's limp arms but quickly recoils and gasps, gazing at his painful hands. "He's freezing!"

"Okay, fire ninja, let me get him," Cole chuckles and reaches for Zane, but also feels the same thing and backs away. "What the heck? How did he end up like this?"

"Get a coat or something," Kai says and Jay rushes to the closet where Zane's clothing is.

"He doesn't have any!"

"Then get a blanket or something!"

Jay gets his blanket and drapes it over his brother, who is trembling uncontrollably. Lloyd grabs him, careful not to touch his bare skin, and puts him on his bed. "Shouldn't we carry him to his room? I mean…where he sleeps, not here?" Lloyd inquires.

"No, we might wake Pixal up," Kai says.

"Man, is that yours or his?" Cole points to a puddle of vomit on the floor by the door.

"Not me," Lloyd tells him.

"He's a robot, so it couldn't be him!" Jay yells.

"Dang it! Look at the bed!" Kai points.

Everyone sees it is frosting over with a thin layer of ice, despite the fact that inside the New Bounty is quite warm. "Holy Cow!" Nya exclaims, entering the room with Pixal behind her, both wearing robes: one red and one purple. "What happened?"

The men back away and let the women see the state Zane is in. "What's the matter, sweetie?" Pixal reaches for him, yet Kai grabs her hand.

"Don't. He froze the bed and all of us who touched him…well in any case, don't," Kai tells her.

"Lloyd, stay with him and we'll get Sensei!" Kai yells and everyone bolts out of the room. Zane's mouth opens slightly and he touches it with a shivering hand. Black oil seeps through his fingers and he groans, retching, expelling a pale substance onto the bed.

The green ninja simply stares at his suffering brother unable to think. Suddenly, it dawns on him. _I did it to him. I…hurt him._

Lloyd sees his veins turning purple, up his hands and wrists. He takes his gi top off and watches in horror at himself in a mirror across the room as the evil spreads, up his arms, his, his throat, and finally, his face. _I cannot control it…I cannot stop myself from harming my family. I need to leave until I can find a solution._

He puts the top on hastily and opens the window on the deck of the New Bounty, climbs out, and leaps stealthily onto the ledge. _I have to get away from them, or else I'll hurt someone._

Lloyd grabs onto the side as the ship begins lifting off the ground, and lets go. His feet hit the hard ground and he bolts away, into the forest near where his home had just been sitting. _It's not home anymore._

He doesn't look back, in case the the others spot him, although part of him wants them to notice. He runs for several minutes until he reaches a secret cave only he and Zane know about. Zane. The poor ninja must be going through unimaginable consequences, due to the removal of his powers. He cannot control them anymore. Lloyd slips into the cave and peers around the corner to watch his home take off, leaving him behind. _Goodbye brothers._

* * *

><p>"Where did Lloyd go now?" Kai grumbles, pushing the door all the way open where Zane is struggling to sit up. "You're awake!"<p>

The ice ninja collapses back down, his arms giving way underneath him and he moans. Kai rushes to his side and pushes him back as he attempts to get up again. "Easy, there. You just awoke." The fire ninja barely handles touching his freezing brother without feeling needles in his hands and gasping.

"I was awake the entire time…in a vague sense," Zane mumbles, running a hand through his hair, but quickly recoiling. "How come I feel so cold?"

"I don't know. None of us can touch you without lots of pain and freezing hands except Lloyd."

At the mention of the boy's name, Zane tenses up and clutches Kai's sleeve, making the fire ninja icy cold. "What? What's the matter?"

"Kai, he attacked me! He attacked me!" Zane screams, with sufficient volume to send the residents flying off the deck of the New Bounty, inside to locate the noise.

"Calm down, Zane. Who attacked you?" Kai probes.

"L-Lloyd. It was he whom I encountered. He's turned evil and took my control over my powers."

"Are you certain that you saw it right? He may have been someone else."

Zane shakes his head, jerking it, and puts his hands against his mouth. "What's the matter?"

He shakes his head again fretfully, his eyes seeming to bore into Kai's very soul. "Did he…do something to you?"

Zane nods for the first time and takes his hands off his mouth. "He destroyed my ability to fight with powers and to touch people without…consequences. I'll be back in about ten minutes." The ice ninja lifts the blanket off his shivering body and slips his legs off the side of the bed.

"Where are you going?"

"To take a shower."

"Do you need me to help you?" Kai reaches out a hand as Zane stands up, but the latter quickly avoids his touch.

"No, thank you. I don't want to hurt you. I can make it."

"Do you want me to get you some clothes?"

"No, I'm not technically showering. I'm getting hot water on my body and clothes so I won't freeze."

"Okay…then…if you need help call me." Zane nods and slips out of the room.

* * *

><p><em>I'm evil. I hurt Zane, but why? Why would I hurt him of all individuals?<em>

"Maybe Dad will help me fix the problem," Lloyd mutters. He gets up, and covers his mouth with the green bandana; then glances outside of the cave. Nothing. He sighs with relief and ambles toward the exit of the forest only twenty feet away, and steps on something firm, yet soft and thin at the same moment.

It wraps itself around the ninja's ankles whilst above him the same stuff catches his wrists. Lloyd looks up just as he is lifted in the air by an animal trap, by his bound limbs causing him to be facing downward, suspended by ropes tied to two trees. His stomach leaps within him. He feels this odd sensation of something moving throughout his bloodstream.

Rage overtakes his being and he screams, like a growl from a ravenous, rapid wolf. "You impudent fools shall pay for your mistreatment of your ruler, for I am the one and only, Over Matter!" a voice screeches, taking over Lloyd's vocal chords. He thrashes and wriggles a leg free of the rope, letting it dangle as he pulls at his bound wrists.

Four tan figures below clad in grass skirts and brandishing spears come into his view, a costly mistake, for the Over Matter is relentless, and easily enraged by trivial things such as unintentionally apprehending him instead of an animal.

"Wait, sir. I shall get you down," one of them speaks in English with a hint of an accent.

"No! I shall do it, you ignorant, red skin!" Over Matter shouts, pulling Lloyd's raw wrists free, now dangling by one leg.

"Red skin. I shall pretend I did not hear such an insult on account of our mistake," the apparent leader says.

"You shall pay!" Lloyd screams and his veins turn a dark purple, his face pale, his nails sharpened, his hair dark, his teeth fangs; his lips bloody red, and his eyes purple.

He pulls his leg free and drops above the head of one of the men, straight onto the spearhead, piercing his right shoulder. Lloyd feels it. Over Matter does not. He howls, grabbing the weapon. He wrenches it away from its owner, and draws it out of the poor boy's body quite roughly. He casts it away and grabs the man. Black blood pours forth from his shoulder and mouth, frothing madly, and he snaps his victim's neck without any hesitation.

The next unfortunate soul drives the spear into Lloyd's abdomen and receives a punch in the jaw. Over Matter sticks his claws down the man's throat before he can recover, scratching him as he wrenches the weapon out. The captive ninja thrusts it in his assailant's chest while another hits him in the head from behind with a stone.

Over Matter turns slowly, his malice bent on the last two individuals standing. He raises the spear, the body of his victim still hanging limply on it, and stabs first one with the shaft. He drops the weapon. He leaps onto the leader, claws slashing the man's abdomen. He gets off as the final victim's intestines fall out, and the poor man falls limply to the ground.

Over Matter pulls Lloyd's mask down and takes off, out of the forest, toward the desert when Scatter Canyon rests. His feet carry him quite far, yet once he reaches his destination his veins change color, his hair turns blond, his lips turn pink, his skin turns yellow; his fangs turn to teeth, his claws turn to nails, and his eyes turn to purple. His blood becomes human again, and his bodily needs take over.

Lloyd shields his eyes from the scorching sun, licking his parched lips before realizing what just took place. He drops to his hands and knees, trembling violently, pain searing through his tormented body and soul. "No!" he wails.

"No! Please, just leave me alone!" Lloyd screams, pounding a bloody fist into the sand. "Leave!"

"Don't worry about me. Take care of yourself first, boy," Over Matter speaks through the boy's cracked, parched lips. "You cannot get rid of me, you foolish child."

"No! Go away!" Lloyd leans on his elbows and puts his hands against his head.

"Take care of your body. You need to be in pristine condition of you want to rule Ninjago!"

"If I can't get rid of you, then neither of us will survive. I'll break every bone in my body if I have to in order to keep you from hurting anyone else," Lloyd says, glancing around the stones to find one with a suitable size. He grabs one the size of his head, rolls onto his back, and drops it over his chest.


	2. Chapter 2: Too Good for Me

Chapter 2

Too Good for Me

**A/N: Hello! Long time no see! :) Sorry for not updating in a while! XP I've been using my spare time for writing a novel, and I'm almost done. Anyway, here is the next chapter. It's short, but the next one will be longer. The last chapter I had pre-written in October, with many mistakes.**

**Review Replies:**

**StuffyJinx: Yeah, poor guy. :P We fangirl's are so mean to our favorites.**

**CameronNinjaDragons: XD Interesting way of putting it.**

**ABCSonicKirbyWarriors: Thank you! It may turn out...different for once. :P**

**Firelce: Thank you!**

**Guest: Will do!**

**Dj6667013: Thanks! Really? It seemed kind of silly. XD**

Lloyd's plan of little consideration does not succeed in the slightest degree.

Being the green ninja has its disadvantages, after all, for it hardly affected his oppressed body.

Over Matter merely laughed at him.

"I told you, you couldn't get rid of me. I am the one in control."

Lloyd shoves the boulder off with ease, and sits up.

His chest tightens, forcing him to cough uncontrollably.

The pain is nothing to the one within him.

"Ninja never quit. I will find a way to stop you," Lloyd spits, and hugs his knees.

Above him, swooping low from the pale, blue sky is a dark, brown falcon.

It glowing, predatory eyes focus on the boy in green who is arguing with himself.

The fowl alights on the highest peak of the canyon.

It zooms in to project the image of Lloyd to everyone in The New Bounty.

"How foolish. Get some rest, for you will need it. Tomorrow will be essential in order to take over this desolate wasteland," Over Matter whispers, "I'll be merciful enough to take you to your destination first."

_Why take over here of all places? _Lloyd wonders for a brief moment.

"No, please. I'll—"

Before the boy can finish, he is transformed yet again into his wicked self.

Over Matter presses his chilled fingers against Lloyd's wounds, and seal them with ice to stop the bleeding.

"Like I said, I'll take care of you. You're only a child, after all. Hurting you doesn't help me, at all. Besides, tonight we need to search for someone."

Lloyd leans his fiery back against the rough bark of one of the numerous forest trees.

Moving is painful, but Over Matter insisted on a brief rest before departing.

The wounds were frozen, but occasionally had to be re-sealed.

It hurts yet no one would care.

If the one in control is not Lloyd, why would his pain be significant.

He does not have a family anymore.

He left.

He is alone.

No one loves him.

Why should they?

He hurt them.

_I deserve it. Pain is too good for me_, Lloyd thinks.

* * *

><p>Rain splatters onto the concrete and brick buildings.<p>

Ashen clods cover the weather beaten sky as people hurry on the streets, going about their daily lives.

A tall, dark figure covers a portion of his face with his black hood.

Soon after, a pretty redhead enters the dark alley, not taking notice of him and grumbling about the torrent over Ninjago city.

He makes mental notes about his soon-to-be victim, seeing the green dress she is wearing, most likely for a party, will make her an easier target.

Furthermore she is wearing heels, making it even easier.

The figure puts his hands in his pockets, fingering a blade, anticipating his victim to walk right into his hands.

A devious smile forms on his repulsively wicked face as he replays over and over again his formidable plan.

After all, the only reason he has committed numerous crimes and lived for this long is for one ultimate purpose: to destroy Lloyd Garmadon, Zane Julien, and Over Matter, forever.

**Lloyd will pay!**

The youthful woman abruptly stops in her tracks, staring at the man with wild fear in her blue eyes.

She turns and darts away from him with rapid footsteps, but her heel snaps and she slips, landing on her hands and knees.

The man rushes forward, pulling the knife out of his pocket and pressing it against her throat.

"Don't speak, or I'll kill you." The girl nods, her wet body trembling as she bites her lip.

Remaining calm is difficult for her.

Hot tears rolls own her cheeks as panic sets in.

_She should stay alive long enough for me to work out my plan_, the man speculates.

He reaches into his other pocket, and produces a syringe, filled with green liquid.

Popping off the plastic cap, he inserts the needle into the girl's upper back thigh.

He injects the unidentified medicine, and shoves it back in his pocket.

No one would know about her.

No one would care once he released her.

He lifts her petite form over his shoulder, carrying her off into chilly, comfortless morning.

**Lloyd will pay.**

* * *

><p>"Has your falcon spotted him yet? It's been five hours!" Jay yaps while Zane hooks up the goggles to the computer of the Bridge so everyone can see.<p>

"Yes, he had sent a video from two hours ago. I just haven't checked it yet." the ice ninja responds, barely able to keep his teeth from chattering.

Everyone looks at the wide screen to see it project the image of Scatter Canyon, with a lone figure way below, lying prostrate on the desert ground.

As the falcon swoops down lower, everyone can make out something dreadful.

It's a boy in green with a boulder on his chest, his body barely rising and falling, part of him permeated in blood.

He shoves the rock off, and begins an unidentifiable conversation.

Over Matter's speech to the ninja sounds like a bunch of nonsense.

"Lloyd?" Kai gasps.

Everyone stares, speechless as their brother hugs his knees to his chest.


End file.
